Sunday, February 12, 2012

Waiting On Spring

I sit here this morning carefully analyzing what will happen in the next few hours. We have gone from unseasonably warm winter weather to unseasonably cold winter weather with snow and ice moving in tonight. The front blew in Friday and has thrown me into a moderate flare up further solidifying the fact that I truly hate winter now that I live with RA. My hands are swollen and I can't hang on to anything, my feet feel like they have been hit with a sledge hammer while my hips, knees and ankles refuse to bend. I also learned this week that there is a shortage of one of my drugs, Methotrexate. While some people are apparently panicking over this, I am not letting it bother me. Stress acts as a trigger for RA and, for me, can bring on more pain and fatigue. I refuse to let this have that much control over my life.

I may be temporarily down but I have been working on my 650 and am making progress on getting it set up. I fired the heaters up in the shop and installed a set up Happy Trails Dakar Nerf Bars and a skid plate. I bolted on a FMF Powercore 4 and modified the air box to let it breathe better. A stage 1 jetting kit is on the way for the carb. In addition, I removed all graphics and wired in a 12v lighter to run my GPS, charge my cellphone on overnight rides and I'm going to pick up a small 12v air compressor to air up tires.

I think that RA knows I am going to take it for some good rides this year. I have a ride planned from Arkansas, through Oklahoma to the Texas border all on dirt, a bridge run (you know me ... I love old bridges) in Missouri that will include 5 iron truss and 3 swinging bridges and then a week long ride in Colorado. I've also been playing with my GoPro Hero cam so I hope to have some decent videos from rides this year.

11
comments:

Anonymous
said...

Howdy TerryThis sure has been a strange winter. I know what you mean about the flare ups. I'm just now starting to get over the cold from hell as I am still homebound. Nice to hear that the bike is coming along. Hope things brighten up there. I did manage to get out and ice fish once and hope the weather remains cold enough to make some more ice so I can get out when I get better.Take care.Phil

Phil, couldn't agree more on the strange winter. I have had a relatively smooth winter (thanks to above normal temps) so I'm not going to complain about a couple of flares late in our winter. Good to hear you are getting over your cold. Take care and go catch a couple for me!

Wow! You sure have kept busy. So sorry about this current bear of a flare you are experiencing. I can only hope that he (or maybe she) will go back into hibernating. I can't wait to see this video. Ride on! The best I have come up with so far for this spring is a short getaway to a nearby locale. And no, I will not be taking a motorcycle there...that is for you to do so I can live vicariously through your adventures :-)

I guess I am not the only one flaring as a result of the weather but I got you out numbered. I have neck and back pain, muscle pain, and joint pain. How about that? :-) We got that same cold front (or maybe it is not the exact same one) and it is eating away at my joints and muscles. I have actually thought about moving to Arizona but no plan as of yet on how to do it. I am kind of worrying about the Methotrexate shortage but I take other meds too and we will just have to wait and see. Don’t overdo it – things will get worse (pain wise) if you do. Trust me, I am paying right now for that and the weather shift, our course. Make sure you give a RA a run for its money this year! I have been really trying to do the same but lately, RA and fibro have been outrunning me.

Cathy, I don't know if that makes me stubborn or stupid but I'm not giving up. I'm going to enjoy life the best that I can while I still can.

Deb, I can do pretty good til winter. I always dread it but we have had such a mild winter this year that I almost forgot about it. We had sleet, freezing rain and 3 " of snow but it should all be gone tomorrow, supposed to be 63 tomorrow. I am going to go ride a couple of bridges the first time out with my new helmet cam. I'll let you know when I do. Short getaways are great, have fun!

Lana, this is one contest I will gladly let you win!! I hurt enough without the rest of your symptoms thrown on top of it. I would like to move to a warmer year round climate but Donna won't even entertain the idea. I usually don't overdo it when I am in a flare ... now later, that's a whole different story.

OK...if you haven't already done it... go over to RA Guys blog and the link to the Show Us Your Hands Project. You can also get to it from my blog. I am expecting to see you on your bike in that book!! I think the world would love to see you the passionate motorcyclist in that book. You have so much to say about your hands. Please do so. Prod...Prod...

It does seem to be the winter of the flare. It has been a real battle this winter. It has to be this crazy weather we are having, 60 one day 25 the next. What the heck is up with that? Of course all of those 60 degree days fall in the middle of the week when I am stuck at the office. Oh well, summer will be here soon. Enjoy planning you upcoming trips and working on the bike.

Your bike's looking really great, but what a bummer that the incoming cold is seizing you up like that Terry. You need that warm weather worse than me... I'll try and force some south when we get some. Your upcoming trip sounds tremendous!!

Mary, the winter has been crazy here as well and we must be on the same pattern. The weekends are when we get the cold weather and any precipitation. If my RA will cooperate a little better this year, I'm going to put in a lot of miles this year. Between December and January, I have already put 600 miles on the new bike. Hope you get in a lot of cycling this year as well.

Thanks Andy. I am used to it by now, but that doesn't mean I like it! I have the 3 rides planned plus 3 others in the works so far ... and it's not even warm enough to go do any long rides yet. Wishing you many warm days as well so you can make some more "cheesy" movies. I thought they were cool myself.

About Me

I live with a chronic disease (RA) but still ride all that I can. Riding is my therapy. RA is a strange disease to live with, one day it is all I can do to get out of bed and walk to the living room, the next day I may go ride 150 miles. I do not live or ride pain free but will not give up on enjoying life. I have been reduced to adventure riding, the least strenuous type of off road riding. RA limits my mileage to 150-200 miles a day. I currently own a 2013 KLR650 which I ride every chance I get.